Sound-deadening product and method of installing same

ABSTRACT

A sound-deadening product for a flooring system with a subfloor may be installed by a single installer. The sound-deadening product has a sound-deadening upper portion with a bottom surface and a subfloor contacting layer affixed to the bottom surface of the sound-deadening upper portion. The subfloor contacting layer may include a film or be a laminate. The laminate may includes a nonwoven sheet and a film. The nonwoven sheet is generally co-extensive with the sound-deadening upper portion. The nonwoven sheet is adhered to the bottom surface of the sound-deadening upper portion. The film is generally co-extensive with the nonwoven sheet. The film is a polymer film with a thickness ≤3 mils. An upper surface of the film is adhered to a bottom surface of the nonwoven sheet, and a bottom surface of the film is in contact with the subflooring. A method for single installer installation of the sound-deadening product is also disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/400,745 filed Sep. 28, 2016, incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention is directed to a sound-deadening product and amethod of installing the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sound-deadening products, used as underlayments in flooring systems, arebeing required in some buildings (e.g., residential and/or commercialbuildings). These products reduce or eliminate the transmission of soundbetween floors in the building. Some of the popular products have abottom layer (i.e., the side facing the subfloor) made of a nonwovenmaterial. When these materials are placed on the subfloor (e.g.,subflooring of a composite wood product, for example, particle board orflake board), it often requires two installers to properly place thesound-deadening product.

There is a need for a sound-deadening product that can be properlyplaced by a single installer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A sound-deadening product for a flooring system with a subfloor may beinstalled by a single installer. The sound-deadening product has asound-deadening upper portion with a bottom surface and a subfloorcontacting layer affixed to the bottom surface of the sound-deadeningupper portion. The subfloor contacting layer may include a film or be alaminate. The laminate may includes a nonwoven sheet and a film. Thenonwoven sheet is generally co-extensive with the sound-deadening upperportion. The nonwoven sheet is adhered to the bottom surface of thesound-deadening upper portion. The film is generally co-extensive withthe nonwoven sheet. The film is a polymer film with a thickness ≤3 mils.An upper surface of the film is adhered to a bottom surface of thenonwoven sheet, and a bottom surface of the film is in contact with thesubflooring. A method for single installer installation of thesound-deadening product is also disclosed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in thedrawings a form that is presently preferred; it being understood,however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangementsand instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an embodiment of the instant invention inuse in a flooring system.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment of the instant invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment of the floor contacting layerof the instant invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, wherein like elements have like numerals,there is shown in FIG. 1 a portion of a flooring system 10 and a wallsystem 11. The flooring system 10 includes a finished floor 12, asubfloor 16, and a sound-deadening product 14 therebetween.

The flooring system 10 may be any flooring system. The flooring systemmay have other structural features (as is well known to those ofordinary skill in the art). In general, the flooring system 10 mayinclude a subfloor 16 on a system of joists 17 or a subfloor 16 on acementitious slab (not shown).

The subfloor 16 may be any subfloor, such as those made of plywood,particle board, flake board, and/or the like. In one embodiment, thesubfloor is particle board or flake board.

The finished floor 12 may be any floor, such as, a cementitious (orgypsum) floor, a wood floor, tile floor or the like. The finish floormay be a cementitious floor upon which wood, tile, and/or carpeting maybe laid.

The sound-deadening product 14 generally includes, see FIG. 2, asound-deadening upper portion 20 with a bottom surface 21 and a subfloorcontacting layer 22 affixed (or adhered) to the bottom surface 21.

The sound-deadening upper portion 20 may include any sound-deadeningmaterial or mechanism. Such sound-deadening materials or mechanismsinclude, but are not limited to, a semi-rigid, flexible mat of tangledpolymeric filaments with open spaces between the filaments (alsoreferred to as an entangled net), a corrugated or dimpled entangled net,an entangled net with a film, and/or a membrane, and/or a nonwoven layeradhered to one or more exterior surface of the entangled net, anonwoven, or a nonwoven laminate (one or more nonwoven layers ornonwoven and film and/or film layers laid up together). For example,U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,146,310; 8,528,286; and 8,544,218; and US PatentPublications Nos. 2006/0230699 and 2016/0090745, each of which isincorporated herein by reference, illustrate various sound-deadeningmaterials or mechanisms that may be improved by the invention disclosedherein.

The subfloor contacting layer 22 generally may be, see FIG. 3, alaminate 30 (shown) or a film layer (not shown). The laminate 30generally includes a nonwoven 32 affixed (or adhered) to a film 34.

The nonwoven 32 may be a part of the sound-deadening upper portion 20.The nonwoven may be any nonwoven, such as a spunbond, meltblown,spunmelt, hydroentangled, felted, and/or needled nonwoven. In oneembodiment, the nonwoven is a needled and/or hydroentangled nonwoven. Inanother embodiment, the nonwoven is a needled and/or hydroentanglednonwoven and that nonwoven is a part of the sound-deadening upperportion 20.

The film 34 may be any film. The film is primarily used to facilitateplacement of the sound-deadening product; but the film may also havesound-deadening properties. The film allows the sound-deadening productto glide or slide (e.g., preventing snagging) over the subfloor, therebyallowing a single installer to place the product. The film may be asolid film. The film may have no perforations. The film may not be anonwoven. The film may be an extruded sheet. The film may not be amembrane (e.g., the film is non-permeable, a membrane is permeable). Thefilm may be a polymeric film. The polymer may be any polymer. Polymersmay include: polyolefins (polyethylene, polypropylene and mixturesthereof), polyamides (e.g., nylons), polyesters (e.g., polyethyleneterephtalate, PET), and mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, the polymermay be polyethylene, polypropylene and mixtures thereof. The film mayhave a thickness of less than 10 mils (≈250 micron). In one embodiment,the film may have a thickness ≤3 mils (≈75 μm). In another embodiment,the film may have a thickness 2 mils (≈50 μm). In yet anotherembodiment, the film may have a thickness in the range of 1-2 mils(≈25-50 μm). If the film is also used for sound-deadening, a thickerfilm may be used. For example, such a film may be in the range of 1-6mils (25-150 μm), or 1-4 mils (25-100 μm).

In use, the foregoing sound-deadening product, which may be provided insheet form or as a roll good, is unpackaged and readied for placement.The sound-deadening product 10 may be placed on the subfloor 16 by asingle installer, since the film 14 facilitates placement of thesound-deadening product without the need for another installer.Thereafter, the sound-deadening product may be secured (e.g., nailing orstapling) to the subfloor in any conventional manner.

The present invention may be embodied in other forms without departingfrom the spirit and the essential attributes thereof, and, accordingly,reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to theforegoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:
 1. A method for single installer installation of asound-deadening product in a flooring system on a subfloor, the subflooris a composite wood product, comprising the steps of: providing thesound-deadening product, the sound-deadening product has asound-deadening upper portion with a bottom surface and a subfloorcontacting layer affixed to the bottom surface of the sound-deadeningupper portion, the subfloor contacting layer is a laminate, the laminateincludes a nonwoven sheet and a film, the nonwoven sheet is generallyco-extensive with the sound-deadening upper portion, a top surface ofthe nonwoven sheet is adhered to the bottom surface of thesound-deadening upper portion, the film is generally co-extensive withthe nonwoven sheet, the film is a polymer film with a thickness lessthan or equal to 3 mils, the film is in contact with the subfloor;sliding the sound-deadening product into place on the subfloor with thesingle installer; and finishing a floor over the sound-deadeningproduct.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the flooring system is acementitious or gypsum flooring system.
 3. The method of claim 1 whereinthe polymer film is a polyolefin film.
 4. The method of claim 3 whereinthe polyolefin film is a polyethylene film, or a polypropylene film or afilm of polyethylene and polypropylene.
 5. The method of claim 1 whereinthe film is a solid film, or the film has no perforations, or the filmis not a nonwoven, or the film is an extruded sheet, or the film is nota membrane.
 6. A sound-deadening product in a flooring system on asubfloor for single installer installation, the subfloor is made of acomposite wood product, comprising: the sound-deadening product has asound-deadening upper portion with a bottom surface and a subfloorcontacting layer affixed to the bottom surface of the sound-deadeningupper portion, the subfloor contacting layer is a laminate, the laminateincludes a nonwoven sheet and a film, the nonwoven sheet is generallyco-extensive with the sound-deadening upper portion, the nonwoven sheetis adhered to the bottom surface of the sound-deadening upper portion,the film is generally co-extensive with the nonwoven sheet, the film isa polymer film with a thickness less than 3 mils, an upper surface ofthe film is adhered to a bottom surface of the nonwoven sheet, and abottom surface of the film is in contact with the subflooring.
 7. Thesound-deadening product of claim 6 wherein the flooring system is acementitious or gypsum flooring system.
 8. The sound-deadening productof claim 6 wherein the polymer film is a polyolefin film.
 9. Thesound-deadening product of claim 8 wherein the polyolefin film is apolyethylene film, or a polypropylene film or a film of polyethylene andpolypropylene.
 10. The sound-deadening product of claim 6 wherein thefilm is a solid film, or the film has no perforations, or the film isnot a nonwoven, or the film is an extruded sheet, or the film is not amembrane (e.g., non-permeable).
 11. A flooring system comprising: afinished floor, a subfloor with a sound-deadening product sandwichedbetween the finished floor and the subfloor, the subfloor is made of acomposite wood product, the sound-deadening product has asound-deadening upper portion with a bottom surface and a subfloorcontacting layer affixed to the bottom surface of the sound-deadeningupper portion, the subfloor contacting layer is a laminate, the laminateincludes a nonwoven sheet and a film, the nonwoven sheet is generallyco-extensive with the sound-deadening upper portion, the nonwoven sheetis adhered to the bottom surface of the sound-deadening upper portion,the film is generally co-extensive with the nonwoven sheet, the film isa polymer film with a thickness less than 3 mils, an upper surface ofthe film is adhered to a bottom surface of the nonwoven sheet, and abottom surface of the film is in contact with the subflooring.
 12. Theflooring system of claim 11 wherein the flooring system is acementitious or gypsum flooring system.
 13. The flooring system of claim11 wherein the polymer film is a polyolefin film.
 14. The flooringsystem of claim 13 wherein the polyolefin film is a polyethylene film,or a polypropylene film or a film of polyethylene and polypropylene. 15.The flooring system of claim 11 wherein the film is a solid film, or thefilm has no perforations, or the film is not a nonwoven, or the film isan extruded sheet, or the film is not a membrane.